Back Issues: "Scars" (2003)

While there’s a number of good crime comics, as a genre, they’re not really that popular. Sure, you will have your “Parkers” and your “Criminals” a few good crime comics every year, but they’re not really all that plentiful. So when you’re REALLY in the mood for crime stories, your choices are often limited. Back issue bins might have to be checked. And you may find stuff like 2003’s “Scars”.

Issue #5 cover. Click to enlarge.

“Scars” is a 6-issue miniseries from Avatar Press, written by Warren Ellis and drawn by Jacen Burrows. It’s a straight crime story, done all in black & white, with all the stuff that a good crime story needs. At the same time, though, it’s a little different from your usual detective story.

The story follows detective John Cain and his partner, Amersham, as they try to solve a very gruesome child murder. The corpse of a little girl has been left in front of a store, packed in three small boxes. Our heroes soon find out the girl has been reported missing 3 months ago, and, judging by the autopsy, her last three months up until being cut in pieces were absolute hell. This really hits close to home for John because he has a tragic past (as most crime fiction cops tend to have) – he lost his child and wife in a shooting.

During the investigation, John gets more and more reckless and is being haunted by visions of his daughter. He slowly becomes more brutal, more prone to angry outbursts, and this gets him into trouble with everybody from his boss, other cops, and eventually to his partner.

This is all pretty standard stuff, so far (even though it’s written perfectly), but things get REALLY intense when John starts suspecting one of the people who knew the victim. He has no evidence, only his own instincts, but he feels absolutely sure that that person is the murderer. He starts stalking the man, threatening him and doing everything he can to put the killer on edge, police procedure rules be damned.

Cain (left) & Amersham at the Captain's office.

This is a great story, because up until the very end we’re not sure if John is right about his suspect or not. The case has been bringing his old, painful memories back and he’s more and more on edge as the comic progresses. We don’t know if he is right about the person he suspects, or if the case is getting to him so much that he becomes obsessed with what he THINKS is true. We don’t know whether we’re watching a cop turning an innocent man’s life into hell or not.

The art by Jacen Burrows is alright, if nothing really very spectacular. It does fit the story perfectly, though (and the lack of colors makes it feel like some unearthed classic thriller movie). The facial expressions, the action scenes and the flow of it all, are all working really well here.

Car talk.

Warren Ellis is a very hit or miss writer for me, but he knocks it out of the park in “Scars”. When you finish all 6 issues, you will probably start thinking about how expertly this whole story was told. There’s real tension there. The characters feel very real. The dialogues all sound realistic. There are many elements in this story that may feel randomly thrown-in at first, until you realize how they impacted the way John feels and how he acts. A simple thing from an earlier issue may become very important in #5 or #6. It’s great crime stuff.

If you’re looking for some good crime comics and have never read “Scars”, I recommend you pick it up. It hits all the right marks. You should go and buy it now.

You heard that! Check out “Scars”. And then come back and leave us a comment about how right we were!